The Cult
by Acendant
Summary: A woman asks Dante to help find her daughter. Moments later a Ghost turns up and says shes dead. What is going on?
1. At the office

_This was the first story I wrote. I don't think very many people read it though. I made a huge mistake in putting it all in one chapter so I'm attempting to fix that. Thanks go to HanyouKayleeSama and Penniewise for reviewing this the first time around._

**Disclaimer; I Don't own Devil May Cry, even though I wish I did

* * *

****Devil May Cry - The Cult **

**Prologue:**

It was the exact type of cold December night that threatened snow, yet the skies stayed clear. The priest's watch read 10.55, his day was almost over. He was idly thinking of what he was going to do for the Christmas sermon when the church door burst open. A girl who looked barely a few years older than his teenage sister ran over to him. She was barefoot, wearing what looked like a black robe and she was in tears, clearly terrified of something. She ran over to him and spoke quickly, a pleading tone to her voice, in what sounded like Russian to the priest. This was no good; he didn't speak any languages other than English. She saw his confusion and stopped. Then she leaned forward and put her hand on her stomach. For the first time he noticed how large it was. Her robes had obscured it but it was now obvious that the girl was pregnant.

**19 years later:**

The sign above the door read 'Devil Never Cry', yet the clients insisted on using its old name. Inside sat a man who couldn't care less what people were calling it. He was the devil hunter Dante, son of the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda, and right now he was bored. The radio was blasting out some obscure rock band that nobody had ever heard of. He wasn't really listening to it. His partner Trish was off helping take care of things at Vie de Marli but Dante had been keen to put as much distance between himself and that as possible. Still, right now there wasn't much to do around here. That was probably why he didn't just shoot the intruder straight away. He hadn't even noticed anyone come in until the radio plug was pulled out of the wall.

"You know, I was listening to that". He said, turning his chair to better see the intruder.

"You're a very poor liar, Mr. Dante Sparda, isn't it?" A woman. She spoke with a Russian accent. Dante could see her clearly now. She was petit, about 5"2 if he had to guess, in her late 30's with raven black hair and dressed for business.

"And you are?" He asked

"My name is Natalia Romanov and I need your help. My daughter has disappeared and it is very important that I find her"

It wasn't what she said, more the way she said it that got Dante's interest. Not once did she give the impression of a mother fraught with concern, more like this was business, as if losing her child was no more important than losing a pen.

"Sorry, I don't do pro bono cases" he said

"Money is not a concern to me" she replied "I'd pay you whatever you want"

"It's not to me either; you're just wasting my time"

"I'm sorry you feel that way. I'll leave a photograph of her, in case you change your mind. My numbers on the back" She placed a photo of a girl, about 15, on the desk. She was playing basketball and had the same dark hair as her mother.

"This picture was taken a few years ago; she's a little older now"

"Whatever, close the door on your way out"

With that Natalia Romanov left, no last minute hysterics or verbal abuse like he had expected, she just left. Dante was a little disappointed. He picked up the photo to have a better look. He couldn't place it but for some reason she seemed almost familiar, but he had never seen her before, he was sure of it.

"You're not seriously thinking of taking her up, are you?" A new speaker, a man this time. Dante looked up, a geeky looking man in his late 20's, wearing glasses and a checked shirt.

"Two in one night, I didn't know morons traveled in packs" said Dante, dropping the picture

"That's cold, y'know I went to a lot of trouble to get here, the least you could do is hear me out"

"Well, its not like I've got anything better to do" Dante propped his feet up on the desk.

"Natalia Romanov is dead" said the man

"You're full of it, she was just here"

"Yeah, about that, err... have you ever seen that movie with Bruce Willis and that dumb kid?" He asked

"What, 'I see dead people', what's that have to do with anything?"

"My name is Wilson Greene and I am dead"

"You're both dead?" Dante wasn't convinced

"We recognize our own"

Dante stood up. He was a lot taller than Wilson was. Wilson held his arms in a 'here I am' gesture. Dante threw a punch. It passed straight through Wilson's head.

"Yeah, that happens" said Wilson

"You've convinced me, now talk"

-

Outside, the woman who had introduced herself as Natalia Romanov picked up the receiver of a payphone and dialed a number, when she spoke all traces of Russian were gone from her voice.

"Its me, he believed I was who I said I was, but he didn't seem interested in what I had to say, I don't think he'll get involved" she listened to the other speaker's response, then said

"By Brajin's will" before hanging up.

-

"This is what happened" Wilson began,"I am, or rather I was, what you might call a scholar of history. My Grandpa was an archaeologist. He found this manuscript pretty early on in his career, dedicated the rest of his life to translating it. It kinda turned into the family business"

"You translated it?" Dante asked

"Oh yeah, my life's work! Turns out that it was some kind of prophecy about a devil named Brajin, now apparently he was..."

"Mundus' right hand, I know" Dante interrupted

"Who's Mundus?" asked Wilson

"None of your business"

"As I was saying, I finished translating it, and Brajin's followers wanted it"

"Brajin has followers"

"A whole cult of them, all dedicated to bringing him back"

"And he'll be dedicated to bringing back his master" Dante mused "They killed you for knowing too much, so how does the girl figure into all of this".

Wilson moved to pick up the photo. His fingers passed through the desk as if there was nothing there. He looked at his hand, almost embarrassed

"They're gonna kill her" he said. Dante picked up the photo. He held it so that both he and Wilson could see

"I met Natalia once, years ago. My dad tracked her down as part of his research. Apparently she was involved with the cultists somehow. The woman was insane. She told me that they 'made' the kid, just so they could..." again Dante interrupted him.

"I get the picture. So why isn't Natalia telling me this herself"

"She's already passed on. I know you don't believe me, but that wasn't her before, look" Wilson passed his hand through the photo Dante was still holding

"So who was I talking to before?"

"I don't know who that was, but she was not Natalia Romanov".

Dante took another look at the picture. Wilson was starting to annoy him.

"Right now it's your word against hers, the way I see it, there's only one person I'm gonna get a straight answer from"

Behind them, on the wall, hung the sword Alastor, one of Dante's favorites. He took it from its place on the wall and gave it a few swings. Wilson gave it an uncertain look

"What are you so worried about?" Dante asked, swinging Alastor through Wilson's chest.

"Do you mind? What are you doing" Wilson protested

"The cultists are gonna kill that girl to bring back a devil that should stay dead. They can't do that if I find her first" said Dante, checking over his other favorites, a pair of customized .45's he gave the names 'Ebony and Ivory', his back to Wilson

"And how are you going to do that?"

"I have my ways" Dante spun sharply, aiming his guns at Wilson who jumped back before remembering that the bullets would just pass straight through him

"You ass, what are you trying to do? Look, Natalia Romanov is dead and I can prove it!" Wilson yelled "I can tell you where she's buried".


	2. A long night

The car was a flashy red color, like a race car, the decal on the side depicted a black and gold tiger in mid-pounce. It pulled over by a cemetery and its driver got out. Deep in the cemetery's grounds, near a war memorial statue of a soldier who held his bayonet high, was a small headstone that read 'Natalia Romanov' and a date. The driver of the red racer approached the stone slowly and placed a small bunch of flowers by it, and spoke a few quiet words in Russian. She had clear blue eyes and jet-black hair, the ends of which were tinted red, pulled back into a ponytail. She was older, like the impostor had said, but it was definitely the same girl in the photo she had given to Dante. This was unbelievable. Dante had come here after Wilson had told him the location and had found the grave, but he hadn't expected the girl to be here. Standing here staring wasn't going to get anything achieved. Dante went over to her. She heard him coming and pulled a gun from underneath her coat.

"Who are you?" She asked, keeping the gun pointed at Dante. Her accent was very light. If you didn't know it was there you wouldn't hear it.

"Someone who's looking for answers" Dante replied, drawing his own guns.

Dante was a very imposing figure. 6"6 and built to give Schwarzenegger nightmares. Dressed in red leather, with silver white hair and unnaturally pale blue eyes. This wasn't lost on the girl; her head barely came up to his shoulders. There was a moments doubt in her eyes, but she kept the gun steady. She had guts.

"I'm not sure if I can help you there" for someone staring down the barrel of not one but two .45's her voice was very calm.

Movement behind them drew their attention before Dante could reply. Keeping Ebony trained on the girl he turned Ivory in the direction of the disturbance

"And I thought you weren't going to help me, dear Mr. Dante" It was the woman from Dante's office. Behind him the girl gave a short gasp of surprise. "Now would you be so kind as to return my daughter to me?"

"Don't pull the innocent act, I know she's not your daughter, and lose the 'Mr.', you're making me sound old" said Dante.

"You figured me out. At least I don't have to look like this anymore" said the impostor. With that she put her hands over her face then moved them back over her head. Her hair lightened to a golden brown color and her face morphed into that of a younger woman. Dante took this as the cue to point both guns at her. Whoever she was, she was not human.

"Seeing as I'm no longer pretending to be dear Miss Romanov I insist that you call me Giselle, MR Dante" said the shape changer

"I can think of a few things to call you, but you won't like 'em"

Giselle took offence at that. She leapt towards Dante and the girl. Dante sidestepped to the right and kicked her in the stomach as she landed, knocking her to the ground.

"Don't you know it's not nice to hit a lady?" She hissed

"I'll keep that in mind if I ever meet one" Dante answered

Giselle kept her distance, not keen to be hit again. Her eyes glowed red and in response, the soldier statue raised its weather worn head and it rose from its pedestal. Taking Alastor from his back, Dante hoped that his first impression of the girl was correct and that she could take care of herself. Babysitting was the last thing he needed. The stone soldier pulled itself free of its foundations and swung itself towards them with far more grace and agility than it should have been allowed. It moved to attack. Obviously the stone rifle wouldn't fire bullets but it wielded the bayonet as if it were a sword.

"Kill him! But I need the girl alive!" Giselle commanded. The soldier responded, Charging Dante who met the attack with one of his own.

To Giselle this was enough, the Son of Sparda would be too busy with her creation to bother guarding the girl. She giggled in an annoyingly girlish way as she approached.

"I've been looking for you for a very long time, young lady" she said before pouncing, catlike, and knocking her prey to the ground. The kid dropped her weapon as she fell.

"I'll show Marcus how it's meant to be done. Brajin is gonna reward me for bringing you in" Giselle licked her lips at the thought. Just then her shoulder seemed to explode. A moments confusion then she realised. Dante had shot her! He was still tied up with the soldier, but he had been able to get a round off. The girl took full advantage of the confusion and grabbed Giselle's good arm, using it to flip her to the ground. Giselle panicked and grabbed the fallen gun. She fired twice. Both rounds hit the kid in the chest; she fell to the ground. With that Giselle backed away, looking fearful. She ran. The soldier went to follow its mistress. Ignoring Dante, it approached the girl, intending to pick her up. Dante threw the sword as hard as he could, then grabbed his guns and fired at the thing. The shots got its attention and it charged towards him. Alastor swung like a boomerang and caught the things neck, taking its head clean off. It fell to the ground.

Dante looked around for the kid but she was gone, so was the red car. He was pretty sure Giselle hadn't got her but if she were hurt the witch would find her again.

-

The man went by the name Marcus, although nobody was sure if this was his real name or not. And for as long as he could remember he had suffered from leukemia, his health was now so bad that he could barely walk without the aid of a walking stick. It was to him that Giselle reported. After her defeat she had retreated to Marcus' building. Her shoulder had already healed and she had full use of both arms again. As she told him what had happened at the cemetery his face grew dark. He gestured to a large man wearing a black robe stood by his desk. Giselle fell to her knees and begged for his forgiveness.

"You fool", he replied "The seal is broken now, If the Son of Sparda learns the truth..."

"He won't" Giselle cried, "He must think she is dead", Marcus considered this for a moment

"Very well, I won't punish you this time, but if you are wrong you will pay dearly. You, "

Marcus took a necklace with a small tear shaped crystal pendant from his desk and gave it to his follower "Find the child" He commanded

The man in the robe bowed before replying "By Brajin's will", then he left. Giselle followed him, scowling

"You keep telling yourself that you are in charge, dearest Marcus. That will all change soon enough" she said under her breath

Red cars with tigers painted on the side were very distinctive and shouldn't be too hard to find, Dante had assumed. It was a good theory, but in practice it wasn't working out. What was even more frustrating was that there were pictures of it on flyers everywhere, advertising a place called 'Calhoun's'. Dante knew a fair bit about engines, but he preferred bikes to cars. Still, any idiot knew what it meant when cars were decorated the way that one had been. After an hour he widened his search to include any kind of import car, and outside an old warehouse in a closed down industrial estate he hit pay dirt. Street racers having a party. The estate was perfect for them; it had long stretches of road between buildings and no risk of pedestrians. There were more cars here than in most other places Dante had seen, but no sign of the one he was looking for. He approached two racers who were arguing over the engine of a neon green Honda S2000. They saw him coming

"Hey buddy, this ain't a pedestrian zone, ya hear me" said the first, a Hispanic man.

"I'm looking for someone" Dante replied coolly

"Too bad" the Hispanic started, his friend interrupted

"Hold up a mo, have I seen you before?" He asked

"No"

"You sure? You look familiar"

"Jones man, you need your eyes tested" his friend said

"Who you looking for?" Jones asked. He had noticed Dante's sword and decided that this was not a man he wanted to annoy.

"She drives a red car with a tiger on the side"

"Tiger huh, Sounds like Erika's Skyline, what do you think, Tio?"

"I think, how does a girl like Erika have a Skyline?" Tio seemed to have lightened up

The two started arguing again, this time over the pros and cons of Skylines. This was pointless, but at least now he could put a name to the face. Leaving the morons he pushed on through the crowd. There were plenty of red cars, but no tigers. Not at first, then a black GTO moved to enter a race and there it was. A red car with a tiger decal. The girl, Erika, was stood beside it, talking to a few people. He went over to her and grabbed her arm.

"We need to talk" he said, adding "In private" to her companions, who looked scandalized but, noticing Alastor, left them alone

"You're looking well, considering you took two bullets an hour ago" he said. Something seemed different about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Look Mr., I don't know who you are or what you want..." Dante stopped her, a thought had just occurred to him.

"What kind of car do you drive?"

"What?"

"Answer the question"

"Nissan Skyline. It's a 3.0 litre in line six cylinder engine, 300hp, all wheel drive and twin turbos, right hand drive configuration and built in engine monitoring systems. Now do you want to tell me what this is all about?"

Giselle had seemed like an airhead, she couldn't know that much about cars, and definitely not the model she drove. Dante had no doubt that this was Erika.

"This is about the slut from the cemetery and her cronies. They're after you, but you already knew that. Why else would you take a gun to visit your mother's grave?"

"This coming from the man who carries a sword that's almost as big as he is? Who are you anyway?"

"The man who saved your ass back there, now how about some answers? We'll start with the bullets"

"... I was wearing a vest" she said dismissively, not looking at Dante.

"Where is it now?" He asked. She didn't answer.

People were starting to notice, it was impossible to carry a sword as large as Dante's and not draw attention to yourself. That was when Dante spotted someone who didn't look like the type of person who should be here. A burly looking man in a black robe.

"We're leaving. Get in the car, I'll tell you where to go" he said, pushing her towards the car.

"Hey!" Erika protested. Dante nodded towards the man, she saw him and decided that leaving was a good idea after all.

-

As the Skyline pulled out the man in the robe broke the small crystal from its chain around his neck. He squeezed it tightly, making it glow with a cold blue light. He then ran through the crowd to a building. A race was starting, nobody noticed him enter one of the buildings and climb to the roof. Once there he took the glowing crystal and held it up to his eye like a contact lens.

"Brajin give me strength" he said before shoving the crystal deep into his eye. He screamed in pain. The roar of the crowd below disguising his anguished cries, he fell to his knees and started convulsing. His body started to mutate. His back swelling hideously until the skin burst and a pair of newly formed wings stretched out of the holes. He leapt into the air...


	3. The plot thickens

The Skyline was impressively fast. Whatever Erika had done under the hood, it paid off. They reached the office in no time at all. Dante had gotten the formal introductions out of the way but other than that Erika wasn't in a talkative mood. Under normal circumstances this would have suited Dante just fine but with that cult involved it would have been nice to have some more info. So far the only person who knew anything and seemed willing to talk was Wilson and Dante couldn't exactly beat it out of him, as much as he wanted to. As they got out of the car Dante felt uneasy. He looked around. Out of the shadows stepped a man in a black robe. The same man from the racers party. His robes were torn now but he seemed to be wrapped in some sort of leathery material. He was bleeding from his left eye.

"On behalf of my master, Brajin, I order you to surrender the girl" the man intoned.

"Is that the best you could come up with?" Dante laughed.

The man came forward. What Dante had assumed was leather uncurled and stretched out to its full length. He had sprouted wings. Dante grabbed his guns and fired, catching his opponent off guard. The winged creature roared with fury and took to the air. It raised its arms and blue lightning like energy pulsated between them. Then it threw the lightning at Dante and Erika. It threw them in the air. Erika landed badly and was knocked unconscious. The creature laughed.

"The mighty Son of Sparda" it began, but was cut off by a barrage of golden lightning that tore through it like wildfire

"That's right" said Dante as he drew Ebony and Ivory. The bullets finished it off.

"I wasn't expecting you back so soon" Dante said out loud. A woman's voice answered

"And miss all the fun? I thought you knew me better than that".

Trish was back.

-

Dante's office wasn't exactly the most inviting kind of place. The walls were covered with various demon heads pinned to the wall with swords the way a child's butterfly collection would be with pins. The pool table in the centre of the room could easily date back to the Victorian era, if they had pool tables back then. The drum kit was modern, or it had been back in the 80's when it was in one piece. Recent additions included an old PC that Dante hated; its sole purpose was now to gather dust, and a sofa for when one felt too lazy to drag oneself upstairs to lie down. Add to that the various pizza boxes and empty beer bottles that always seemed to litter the place. This was Dante's place on a good day. Dante carried Erika inside; she hadn't woken up yet, and filled Trish in on the details. He lay the kid down on the old sofa before noticing that they still had an unwelcome guest. To the untrained eye, Wilson was sat by the computer resting his hands on the keyboard. He was in fact levitating a few inches above the chair. The PC hummed with electric life determined to show just what it could do.

"How is this possible?" Dante asked

"I know! If this thing was any slower... have you people never heard of broadband" Wilson ranted

"That's not what I meant"

"Oh, this! Its like this, you see, a ghost that knows he's a ghost is supposed to say goodbye to his loved ones then pass on, which I'm obviously not doing so..."

"Get to the point" Dante interrupted him

"I'm haunting your office"

Trish glanced at Dante as if to say "I leave you alone and look what happens". Wilson carried on, in full geek mode.

"I kept a record of just about everything on my computer. I've managed to hack in from here, which was no mean feat considering that your computer is ancient. I've got all my files here so there should be something useful"

"Can it tell us how she survived getting shot in the chest?" Trish asked

"She's got devil's blood in her, it's the only explanation" Dante said "And if you're gonna stick around at least make yourself useful. What can you tell me?"

"The ego has landed" said Wilson

"What was that?"

"Nothing, check this out" Wilson showed them a picture on the screen. "Brajin's sword, Herikarras. The Seer who foresaw Sparda's coming forged it. She made it for him, like a peace offering. When Brajin found out he stole it and cut the Seer's eyes out. Had 'em crystallized and set into the hilt" Wilson rambled

"I know this story; Brajin used it to fight Sparda. He thought he beat him too, but Sparda was just hurt. He slayed Brajin while he was celebrating his 'victory'". said Trish

"They say the blade is still stained with Sparda's blood" Wilson had never sounded more like a geek than he did now.

"Well, it makes sense to me that Erika is part devil. It would explain why they singled her out" mused Trish

"Part which devil, not Brajin?" said Dante

"Sacrifice his own child? Is that what you mean? For all we know it could be the Seer's blood they need" argued Trish

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I'll see if I can pull up the prophecy itself" said Wilson.

On the couch, unnoticed by anyone, Erika was awake. And she had heard everything.

-

Marcus gazed up at the sword, Herikarras, where it was hung on his wall. It was a beautiful item. The blade was sheathed but the hilt was the main focus of attention. Made of bronze with a single crystal orb set in each side. The orbs looked eerily like eyes, and they gazed around in their sockets of their own accord, blinking occasionally. Giselle watched him. She had changed her clothes from the demure business suit to a tight fitting leather outfit with stiletto heels that wouldn't look out of place at an S and M club. She hated that sword.

"You know it has a curse on it" she said aloud

"Whoever wields it in battle shall see only what he wants to see and not what is real, I know. That's not exactly a problem for me" he tapped his walking stick on the ground.

The sword closed its glassy eyes and a single tear fell from it. Marcus caught it and watched as it solidified in his hand.

"Besides, the swords true power has nothing to do with battle" he said.

"Your man failed. He should have been back by now" Giselle remarked

"And you could do better? The girl is truly her mother's daughter; she has eluded us for nineteen years. And need I remind you that it was your lack of judgement that got the Son of Sparda involved?"

"You approved it"

"I approved of investigating the possibilities that Sparda's heir presented and I decided that he posed too big a threat. I did not give permission for you to inform him of our dealings"

"I did nothing of the sort!"

"You failed to deal with the scholar in a suitable manner and his ghost informed the Son of Sparda of my plans! I hold you personally responsible for this mess"

Giselle stormed out of the room.

-

"You're assuming a lot here" Wilson began, "First off; there are a lot of ways that a person can survive being shot. It doesn't automatically qualify you for... whatever it was you were talking about".

"Full recovery after less than an hour does"

"Point taken, but if she is part devil how could she be part Brajin or Seer. They're both dead".

"That hasn't stopped you, has it?" Asked Dante

"That's different".

"You find a lot of devils that won't let little things like their own death put them off".

"Then there's the problem of our friend outside, not to mention the shape shifter you told me about" Trish commented "Who knows how many lower class devils are in this cult if they think they'll get more powers out of it"

"Wait a second. More powers?" Wilson was confused

"Don't you know this already? You translated it after all" Trish was confused

"Parts of it. It's been in the family since my Grandpa's time"

"OK. Its part of the Herikarras story. The eyes release crystals that look like tears. Put one in your own eye and you get a power boost" Trish explained, reading from one of Wilson's printouts.

"I don't like it. What do you think Dante? Dante?" Wilson and Trish looked around the office. Dante was gone. He came back in a minute later, carrying... Wilson forgot his concentration and fell through the chair.

"Oh, you didn't... That's sick"

"You got any better ideas? This way I can find out if the cultists do have that sword or not" Dante set the severed head of the demon on the desk.

"But did you have to bring it in here?" Wilson protested

"Swords too big for what I have in mind" Dante said in an offhand kind of way, searching among the rubbish on the desk. He settled for an old bottle opener.

"No... I can not watch this" Wilson moaned as Dante went to work. Trish watched for a moment. She had seen Dante do far worse than this, yet Wilson was acting like this was the worst thing he had ever seen. It probably was, but that wasn't important. Nobody had checked on Erika for a while. Trish decided to see how she was doing. Dante had left her on the couch...

"Guys, we've got a problem". Erika was gone.

-

Giselle had screwed up. There was no other way to put it. Marcus didn't know the real reason she had gone to Dante and she was keen to see that it stayed that way, but now he had taken the manuscripts she had taken from that fool Greene. Without them her plans would be ruined. She had to come up with something quick if she were to salvage what was left of her scheme. And if the Son of Sparda figured it out... She didn't even want to think of what would happen then. Things were bad and hanging around here wasn't going to fix it. Giselle had to do something. Looking in a nearby mirror she decided that no one would notice a lowly cleaner leaving. She put on a large overcoat and then placed her hands over her face. It rippled and distorted before it morphed into that of an elderly woman and then she headed towards the elevator.

-

"Erika's gone! Why the hell was nobody watching her?" Dante was furious.

"She can't have gone far. Dante, you were just outside, did you see anything?" said Trish.

"No, nothing. DAMMIT!" He kicked the chair. Wilson went over to a window, passing through the pool table on his way

"Her car's still here" He said

"She'd have known it'd make too much noise"

"Your right Trish, She can't have got far" said Dante as he headed towards the door

"Hey! Where are you going now!" Wilson cried out

"After her". And with that he was gone.


	4. Erika

There were very few people in the world that Erika Yekaterina Romanov felt that she could trust, and after seeing what this Dante character and his friends were capable of they were definitely not on that list. The only real explanation she could come up with for why she had gone there was shock. Either way it didn't matter now. There was no way she could stay here anymore. Losing the Skyline was the only real upset as she had put a lot of time and effort into it, but it was too recognisable as it was and going back for it meant heading back into Dante's territory. That felt like a bad idea.

For the past six months 'Calhoun's 24 hour Auto repair' had been home to a young apprentice mechanic by the name of 'Erika B. Spilner'. It was here that Erika had rebuilt her Skyline from a wreck. It was also Erika's destination. The taxi she had caught pulled up alongside the garage. The lights were on, which was no real surprise, Hank Calhoun insisted that there be a mechanic or two on call at all times. Sometimes he even rented apartment space above the main garage to ensure that his claim of service at any time could be met. Of course very few people ever called at 3 am looking for a tune up. Being the 'resident' as it were meant that the graveyard shift was usually hers, but this was supposed to have been her night off. Erika wondered for a moment who it was that was on call tonight, and how she was going to explain packing up and leaving on such short notice.

Entering the garage something felt amiss, everything looked right but Erika couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone here who shouldn't be. The problem with places like this was that there were too many places a person could hide. Looking around she made a mental note of her blind spots. The truck used for transporting parts, a family car with an engine that leaked water, the body of a Dodge Charger a client wanted rebuilt the same way the Skyline had been (Hank had made flyers boasting about the rebuild of her car, there were pictures of the Skyline everywhere), the office.

"Stop being stupid" she told herself. Whoever was watching the garage would either be in the office or upstairs. The office was closer, she would check there first.

At first everything looked ok. Hank was slumped in a chair sound asleep, watched by a poster of James Dean; a cup of coffee was on the desk. That was odd, the coffee machine was broken. Hank must have fixed it. Erika could have kicked herself for being so paranoid. She turned to leave when the phone rang, making Hank jump. He spotted Erika as he grabbed the phone and gestured to her to stay where she was.

"Calhoun's 24 hour Auto Repair, How can I help?" He began. After listening to the other speaker's response he replied "Red car with a tiger on the side? Yes, this is the garage that built that particular car. It's on all my flyers". Erika's blood ran cold. Hank's flyers were everywhere. Anybody looking for that car would know where to look. How could she have been so careless? Hank finished his call

"You know, that was the third call about your car tonight".

"Who was that?" She asked

"Don't know, he asked about your car then just hung up" said Hank

"He? You're sure it was a man?" said Erika, slowly backing out of the office

"You sure are jumpy tonight, what's the problem" Hank got out of the chair

"The evaporator on my Skyline's blown out, the engines completely flooded" She said, sounding completely natural

"Well, we can get a new one" said Hank, reaching an arm towards her. She grabbed his outstretched arm and yanked as hard as she could, forcing Hank to his knees. He screamed as his shoulder dislocated.

"Who are you and what have you done with Hank" Erika spat in his ear

"I am Hank" He cried

"Any mechanic could tell you there's no such thing as an evaporator" Erika twisted the impostors arm "now who are you".

'Hank' turned, his dislocated shoulder twisting at an impossible angle

"Well, aren't you the clever one" the fake Hank said in a female voice. 'He' kicked Erika in the stomach, throwing her out of the office. Erika landed on the body of the Charger. The fraud popped the dislocated shoulder back into its socket before placing its hands over its face. It was Giselle.

"This could have been so easy, you know." She said, taking off the mechanics overalls she had worn over her leather outfit. Her stiletto heels clicked loudly in the silence. "If Marcus had bothered to read the nerd's work, he'd know that I don't need you after all. All I need to do is present your heart to Brajin's altar and he'll come back to life." Giselle pulled a wickedly curved dagger from the back of her pants.

"So what are you getting out of this, Brownie points? And where's Hank?" Erika asked, trying to buy some time while she came up with a plan

"I'm not gonna say where your friend is, that would spoil all my fun. And what I'm getting is Brajin's favour. He rewards those who are loyal to him"

"You're insane, you know that? Do you really think that this guy cares about his little minions?"

"How dare you call me that!" Giselle leapt in her strange cat-like way but Erika was ready for her this time. She flipped backwards away from her attacker. Giselle landed hard enough to crush the frame of the car. On top of the wreck, Erika was on her feet before Giselle could recover from the impact. She kicked the blade from Giselle's hand before Giselle could regain her composure. The witch shrieked with fury and tried to claw at Erika but the girl was too fast for her. She cartwheeled off the top of the car leaving Giselle to land unceremoniously in the space she had previously occupied.

"I'll kill you for that you little bitch" Giselle spat. She looked around for something that she could bring to life, as she had done the statue at the cemetery. Erika spotted this and ducked back into the office.

"Showing your true colours? I wouldn't expect any better from your kind" said Giselle. She jumped off the wrecked car and picked up her fallen dagger.

"Dear dear Marcus was so scared of what might happen. If it were up to him we'd still be looking for a way to get the heart we need. It was my idea to make our own. If I'd been more careful in choosing a mother I wouldn't be in this mess" She said aloud as she closed in on the office. She came up to the door, licking her lips, her eyes glowing red.

"Come out; come out wherever you are... Aah!" Erika threw the cup of coffee from the desk into her face before kicking her in the chest hard enough to push her from the room. A sharp hook to Giselle's ribs followed by a quick jab, Erika spun into a hard kick to Giselle's head and followed it though with a second, a roundhouse this time. It caught Giselle squarely on the jaw, knocking her to the ground. Giselle screamed in rage and indignity, she staggered to her feet.

"You..." She charged at Erika with murder in her eyes. The heel of her stiletto boot caught on the ground and snapped under her weight, taking her to the ground. Erika caught her with a sideways kick to the mid-section, Giselle landed on her backside and Erika held her pose, her flat boots letting her balance perfectly.

"You obviously didn't think this through properly, did you?" She said with a sly smile.

"I'll kill you!" Giselle hissed

"That line's getting old, either do it or shut up" Erika commented as she put her foot down. Giselle forced herself to her now mismatched feet and threw herself towards Erika. Just then something moving extremely fast hurled towards Giselle and struck her hard, pinning her to the wall. It took Erika a few moments to realise that it was a sword. She turned in the direction that it had come from. There he was. Erika assumed a defensive posture as Dante came into the garage.

"Relax kid, I thought you'd have realised by now that I'm not the bad guy" He said

"I still don't know anything about you. You tell me what makes you so different from her" said Erika.

"How about the fact that I'm not trying to kill you?". Dante looked at her more closely this time. He could definitely feel some kind of demonic energy coming from her. For a second he seemed to recognise the feel of it, but then it was gone. For a moment he wondered how he had missed it before.

Behind them Giselle wailed in rage. They ignored her. Erika considered what Dante had said and decided that he was on the level, at least for now. She relaxed her posture.

"I'll see you both burn for this!" Giselle spat at them, furious at being ignored. She pulled herself along Alastor's blade as far as she could go. "You're going to pay dearly". Dante trained a gun on her face

"Unless you've got something useful to say, keep your mouth shut" He said in an icy voice.

"To start with, what did you do with Hank?" Erika demanded, matching Dante's tone perfectly. Giselle started to laugh. Quietly at first, but getting louder and more demented. She looked at them with that evil red glow in her eyes. Behind them the family car roared into life. Dante grabbed Erika and jumped out of the way. The car slammed into the wall, hitting Giselle. They looked back at the wreck and Giselle was gone, leaving Alastor behind.

-

Trish had agreed to stay behind only because she liked to know what she was going up against. The information Wilson had pulled off the computer was going to be excellent when they eventually found the cultists. But Wilson had spent the past 20 minutes talking about PC upgrades. Getting the computer had been her idea but she had absolutely no idea what all the technical mumbo jumbo meant. She was bored.

"I wonder how Dante's doing" She said aloud, more to shut Wilson up than anything else. He turned to face her.

"He's half man, half devil, kicks ass with both guns and swords and you're worried about him?" He asked

"I'm not. Its Erika I'm more worried about. What could have made her take off like that?"

"You mean other than Dante's little home surgery over there? Think about it. Here we are talking about her being half devil, what if she doesn't even know about it?" Wilson pointed out.

"No, she would have known. It's not the type of thing you can keep hidden from someone "

"Not necessarily. The Seer wrote something in the manuscript about a seal that was designed to keep a child like her from ever reaching their 'full potential'. I'll see if I can pull it up".

Wilson placed his hand over the keyboard. The keys clacked with the speed of a machine gun. Trish watched the images on the screen change, listening to Wilson swear occasionally at the slowness of the computer. A noise coming from outside caught her attention.

"What was that?" She said.

"What was what?" Wilson asked without looking up.

When it came to swords, Dante wasn't the only one who kicked ass. These days Trish was the proud owner of the sword that was once carried by Sparda himself, the sword that bore his name. So far she had kept it attached to her back, now she drew it. Wilson stopped typing.

"What are you doing?" He asked. Trish didn't answer. She went to the door. Outside stood three men, all wearing identical black robes to the one the first one had worn, All bleeding from one eye. The first spoke.

"The Son of Sparda, where is he?"

"What's it to you?" Trish yelled at them. The three of them moved into a semi circle.

"Our master has ordered his death" said the speaker. His companions unfolded their arms, all eight of them. The Herikarras crystals had given them both an extra pair and bulked up their muscles to the point that they made steroid users look normal. The leader spoke again.

"You will tell us where he is"

"I'll tell you to go to hell" Trish replied coolly. The multi armed men closed ranks. Trish looked bored; she drew a line on the ground with her sword. The leader hung back while his companions advanced. They moved slowly, as if their bodies were too heavy for them. Trish felt a small smirk play across her lips, this was going to be easy. The first was able to force himself into a lumbering charge, holding his arms out for balance. Trish jumped almost lazily, flipping in mid air and striking her assailant on the back of his head with her sword. Too easy. The colossal form fell to the ground and didn't get back up. The second saw the ease in which Trish had dispatched his comrade and held back cautiously. Trish lunged forwards with her sword ready. The towering figure tried to dodge her attack but he was too slow. She caught one of his arms rather than his chest. He swatted at her with his remaining three arms. She dodged it effortlessly and swung a deathblow to his neck

"You expected to go up against Dante? With this? What makes you think you would have stood a chance when I'm not even breaking a sweat?" she laughed. The remaining cultist said nothing. It was as if he hadn't heard her. Trish was confused; he had just watched her wipe the floor with his buddies yet he was acting like nothing had happened.

"Hey, moron. Am I not even gonna find out what 'gift' you got stuck with?" Again he didn't reply. This was boring. Trish walked right up to him and punched him in the face. He fell into a crumpled heap by her feet. She went back inside.

"Wilson! You mentioned a curse on the sword"

"Yeah, whoever tries to use it gets hallucinations. They see what they want and nothing else" was his reply.

"Could that be on the crystals as well?"

"Well, err... it is possible..."

"Wilson, yes or no"

"After what just happened I'd say yes. What did just happen by the way?"

"Later. Did you find anything on that seal you mentioned?"

"Oh sure! All the actions outside and you expect me to be chained to a desk!" Wilson complained. Trish set the sword down on the desk. Wilson returned to the computer, grumbling under his breath. Neither of them noticed that Trish had put the sword Sparda on top of the Herikarras crystal that Dante had left behind.


	5. Dreams

Dante pulled his sword out of the wreckage and took a look around. Erika had gone back into the office. She was very quiet.

"How did you figure out that she was a fake?" Dante asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know what that machine makes, but it definitely isn't coffee. Nobody in his or her right mind goes near it" She commented, pointing at the machine in question "how did you find me?"

"There are posters of your car everywhere. They all have this address on them. Seemed a good place to start"

"Damn you Hank" Erika said quietly, swinging back on the chair. Dante sat on the desk.

"You know he's probably dead, don't you" said Dante

"I know"

-

Back at the office of 'Devil Never Cry', unnoticed by Trish and Wilson who were busy arguing, the sword Sparda began to hum gently and glow with a faint amber light...

-

In the small office of 'Calhoun's 24 hour Auto Repair' Erika put a hand on her head, as if she felt dizzy. Dante was about to ask her what was wrong when he too felt a dizzy spell. For a moment the room seemed to spin, then everything went black...

-

Dante awoke in a room he had never seen before, yet nothing about it felt sinister or dangerous. It felt oddly like home. He looked around. It was definitely a bedroom of some sort. His weapons were gone, he was wearing different clothes and there was no sign of Erika. Cautiously he approached the door. The hallway outside was empty. Dante had the strangest sense of deja vu, as if he knew where every door on this hallway would lead. This feeling unsettled him. It was like knowing where you left your watch and knowing at the same time that you don't own a watch. This weird feeling told him that somebody was waiting for him in the study. He had no idea where the study was yet his feet knew instinctively where to go. He pushed open the correct door to reveal a comfortable study with a large couch and an old armchair. Around the walls were several bookcases and an old fireplace. Erika was sat on the couch. She was also dressed differently but that wasn't all. Her hair had gone from its usual ebony black to a silvery blonde colour. She suited it that way, Dante thought. She watched him enter the room. There was one other person in the room with them. He stood by a window, looking out. Then he turned to face them as if he had sensed that they were both here. It was like looking at a double exposed photograph. The man who stood before them was easily as tall as Dante; he had snowy white hair and a beard. His face had a look that wasn't young yet wasn't old either and his eyes sparkled with every shade of blue imaginable. No human eyes could ever look like that. At the same time, towering above them in all his glory was none other than the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda himself. Who had once faced down the armies of the Underworld and looked more than capable of doing it again. He looked at Dante and smiled.

"You're here. I was starting to wonder" he said

"Are you..." Dante began but found that he couldn't finish. The man understood anyway.

"In the flesh, or so to speak. None of this is real but on some level, yes. I am Sparda"

"Wait, none of this is real?" Erika asked

"Dante sit down. You both need to hear this" said the man who claimed to be Sparda. Dante sat next to Erika. For some reason the chair seemed out of bounds.

"I'm assuming you know about the curse Herikarras placed on her sword, that anyone who tries to use it sees their hearts desire. The same applies to those crystals that the sword makes, only its not as strong" He explained as he sat down in that chair

"Explains why those guys are so easy to beat" Dante mused

"Trish put my sword on that crystal you dug out of that goombah's eye. It still has my essence in it. That was enough to trigger this, a vision of my hearts desire. A safe place to raise my family"

"But I'm not..." Erika began but Dante cut her off

"Are Mom and Vergil here as well?"

"Dante, you've got to remember that this is just a dream. The two of you are really still in that garage. Although they could be here and most likely are, that's not what's important now"

"What is important?" Dante asked him.

"You two aren't stupid. On some level you've probably figured this out already" he said. "How many times have things seemed familiar to you?"

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?" Erika asked slowly.

"All I can tell you is what you already know. Even if you aren't aware that you know it. The rest is up to you" said Sparda gently, "Its time to wake up now".

With that the room started to fade.

-

Back at 'Devil Never Cry' the gentle hum and glow that the sword Sparda had been making died down as subtly as it had begun. Neither Trish nor Wilson noticed, as they were both still busy arguing.

-

It felt like waking. Dante was back at Hank Calhoun's tiny office. According to the clock on the wall no time had passed at all. Dante looked around for Erika. He needn't have worried. She was still in the chair. There was no way she could have left, he was between her and the door, and the office was too small for her to sneak past without him knowing. Her hair was black again but a streak of silver remained, standing out against the black like a beacon.

"What was that?" she whispered.

"Can't have been a dream" Dante said

"What?"

"Sounds to me like we had the same dream, if that's what it was"

"No, that's impossible"

"Whatever it was, it was real" said Dante, touching the line of silver in Erika's hair. She pulled back, shocked at this.

"What do you think your doing?" she shouted

"Check it out" Dante picked up a spare wing mirror that had been left on the desk. She took a look.

"Erika, you're half devil. You've got demonic blood in you" Dante tried to explain

"Demonic blood? I don't know what's going on here but that is..."

"The truth. I know because I'm the same"

"Half devil?"

"Yes"

"This is stupid. You expect me to believe you. I don't even know you" Erika was getting really distressed about this.

"After everything that's happened tonight how can you not?"

Erika didn't reply. She looked at the mirror again, running a finger along the white stripe.

"Look, there's nothing more we can do here. Lets head back to my place. You left your car"


	6. The Prophecy

Erika's Skyline had remained miraculously untouched throughout the night's events. It stayed parked outside the 'Devil Never Cry' office, silent witness to everything that had occurred during the night. A few snowflakes started to fall lazily from the sky with a graceful gentleness that had no place in this situation. Familiar sights are the most welcome ones. For Dante it was the office that had served as home for as long as he could remember, For Erika it was the vehicle that she had put so much of herself into rebuilding. The scene was ruined by the presence of four bodies, dead, unconscious or decapitated but all wearing Brajin cult robes. Indoors was no better. Trish looked ready to tear Wilson's throat out.

"So did you do anything besides argue while I was gone?" Dante asked sarcastically. Neither one of them said anything.

"Well, what about those guys outside. Did they know anything?" Erika asked

"We didn't ask" said Wilson.

"I think ones still alive; we could try asking him" Trish joked

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Dante went out to find the goon. Trish followed, protesting as she went.

"So, Erika, how are you?" said Wilson. Erika didn't reply.

"We met once, or our parents did, you would've been one or two. I was about six". Erika still didn't reply.

"Did Dante tell you about...?"

"The devil thing? Yeah he mentioned it. Now you tell me, am I supposed to believe it?"

At that point Dante and Trish came back in, dragging the now conscious cultist by his ankle despite his protests. His hood had fallen away from his face and a third eye rolled angrily in his forehead.

"Hey! Wait a minute, I recognise this guy!" Wilson yelled, "That's the man that killed me!"

Erika looked confused but said nothing. Dante searched his desk for his trusty bottle opener

"What are you doing? Your not gonna..." Wilson started

"And leave this moron with whatever that crystal gave him?" Dante pointed out

"Oh... Since you put it that way, let me get this one. I owe this guy"

"How?"

"Oh, ye of little faith". Wilson held out his hand. The cultist started to wail and his eye seemed to swell. Then the crystal shot out like a small bullet, passing straight through Wilson's outstretched hand.

"Forgot about that part" Wilson said for no good reason.

"You may be annoying but that is a nice trick" said Trish. Dante glanced across at Erika, she seemed a little shocked by this but after what had happened at the garage she was coping better. He didn't think she would run again.

"Now, you and your friends have ruined what could have been a quiet night for me, and I don't get those very often". said Trish, playing bad cop. "I'm pretty sure I know why, but now I want to know who I have to point the finger at for disturbing me. Who's your boss?"

"She is upset. You don't wanna mess with her when she's like this". Dante teased. Trish shot him a filthy look. The cultist spat on the ground.

"I will tell you nothing" he hissed

"That 'Giselle' person kept talking about somebody called Marcus, if that means anything to you guys" Erika said forthright.

"It may at that, Who's Marcus?" Dante demanded.

"You will have to kill me". Threatened the cultist.

"You know, that's the best idea I've heard all day" Dante said, throwing the man to the ground and drawing his guns. The cultist wasn't as brave as he had pretended. He cried out the second that he saw the barrels.

"Who is Marcus?" Dante said dangerously. The man spoke quickly, not wanting to anger anyone any more than he already had. He told them that Marcus was the leader of the Cult of Brajin and that he had a plan to resurrect him. Then he told them where the building was where Marcus lived. As he spoke his third eye closed up and sealed, as if it were never there.

"That's everything I know. I swear." he said when he finished.

"There's still one problem. What do we do with you now?" said Trish.

"I say we let him go" said Wilson

"What? You said this is the guy that killed you. You just want to let him go?" Trish argued

"Trish has a point, and you were perfectly happy to float his eyeball out before. What changed?" Dante asked him.

"An eye for an eye and all that, that's fine by me. But killing for killings sake? You gotta draw the line somewhere. You're not monsters" Wilson replied. Dante glanced around at the faces of everyone assembled before making his decision. He drew Ebony.

"You got one chance. Get out of my sight and don't let me catch you around here again, because your 'guardian angel' over there may have manifested somewhere else and won't be able to talk me out of it. Get out of here". He didn't need telling twice. Behind them Dante heard Erika give a quiet sigh of relief. He hadn't realised how on edge she was. Trish wasn't happy.

"He's just gong to run back to his boss and tell him we're on to him"

"Maybe not" said Wilson

"What do you mean?"

"You got to try having a little faith in people. Not everyone in the world lives just to screw people over. Some people are ok"

"Wilson, quit preaching. I liked you better when you were annoying" said Dante, heading towards the door. Wilson just shook his head and returned to the computer.

-

Wilson's intentions were the best, but in this case he was wrong. The cultist returned to Marcus just as Trish had guessed he would. He grovelled before his master and told him what had happened at the office of 'Devil Never Cry'. Marcus's face was unreadable. He clicked his fingers and a huge man behind him came forward. He seized the smaller man by the neck and dragged him away. Marcus watched with a bored interest. Then he turned his chair so that he was facing the Herikarras sword once more. Outside the snow got heavier with each passing moment. On a rooftop facing Marcus's office stood a dark figure. Watching the window through the snow. Dante had suspected that the cultist had been lying, he had broke too easily. This building wasn't the one their captive had described. Dante jumped into the air where he seemed to hang for a moment, then his body glowed with an intense light and a pair of powerful wings extended from his back. This was a natural ability that came from his demonic blood; not an unnatural transformation forced on an unwilling body like the ones the Herikarras crystals produced. He took to the air and headed home.

-

"You followed him, without me" Trish was upset.

"That's not what's important right now. What matters is that he lied to us" said Dante. Wilson was quiet. Erika didn't seem convinced.

"So now what, you're gonna declare open war on the guy?"

"Why not? Those cultists wanted you dead, and they killed Wilson"

"Since when did you care about Wilson?" asked Trish, Wilson shouted "Hey!"

"A reason is a reason; I don't care if it's a good one or a bad one". Dante hadn't told Trish about the 'dream' he had back at the garage, or what he now suspected because of it. That was the real reason he wanted to get in there and do something. Neither Trish nor Wilson had noticed Erika's new silver streak, it was likely that they had assumed that it had always been there and Erika hadn't done anything to draw attention to it. Dante figured that it was her choice. Trish wasn't stupid, she could tell that something was amiss.

"Dante, what's this really about? And don't tell me you've suddenly developed a conscious or something. I know you too well for that"

For a moment he considered telling Trish what he thought, then decided against it. Erika seemed to be used to disappearing. Dante didn't want to give her a reason to run away again. Erika was sat by a window, watching her car get buried by the snowfall. Weather reports were now predicting a severe snowstorm to break out by the end of the night. Wilson had returned to his self-appointed task of pulling up as much information as he could. Trish waited, but no matter how many different ways he ran through it in his head Dante couldn't come up with a way to say what he was thinking. Appalled, Trish turned away. She went to join Erika by the window. An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Dante turned the radio on, more to break the silence than to listen to it. The sudden loud music made Wilson jump. That got everyone's attention.

"Oh yeah! I'm just the comic relief around here, aren't I?" Wilson yelled irritably.

"Wilson, shut up" said Dante as he leaned on the computer desk to see what Wilson was working on, knocking the mouse in the process and hitting a couple of buttons.

"Hey! Watch it!". The screen blazed furiously, different files and images trying to load.

"What? What did I do?" said Dante in a mock innocent voice. Trish smirked at them.

"You were arguing a minute ago, now you're friends again? How does that work?" Erika remarked.

"Nothing clears the air like making fun of the ghost" Trish quipped

"I heard that!" Wilson called back to her before he started grumbling about fixing whatever Dante had done.

Trish hadn't really had much of a chance to talk to Erika before now. She couldn't figure it out yet for some reason the girl reminded her of someone. It was strange to say the least.

"Have we ever met before?" Trish asked, knowing that they hadn't

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"No reason".

"Guys, I hate to interrupt whatever you're doing but this is huge!" Wilson called.

"What is it?" Dante asked him.

"I've found that prophecy thing; you guys have got to see this"

-

Giselle had never been so livid in her life. She had changed her broken shoes for a new pair upon returning to Marcus's tower. Now she approached his office in a no nonsense manner. She had had enough.

"Marcus, if you do not kill that little brat right now I swear I'll..."

"If I don't? Surely you have enough common sense to see that..." Marcus never finished his sentence for as he spoke Giselle pulled a gun from behind her back and shot him in the head. She went over to his desk and picked a matching gun out of a drawer.

"Anything the Son of Sparda can do, I can do too" She said to herself.

-

Wilson read the prophecy aloud while Dante, Erika and Trish listened.

"I, Herikarras, Seer of events yet to come, do hereby write this journal in hope that one who has power may find and be aided by it. Last night I dreamt a dream, in that a Dark Knight of legend rose against the Prince of the Underworld..."

"Dark Knight. That would mean Sparda, right?" Erika interrupted

"Are you going to let me finish?"

"Sorry"

"Where was I? Dark Knight of legend, ok." Wilson found his place and started again

"The Prince, enraged, shall send first his most trusted lieutenant..."

"Skip this part, get to the bit that matters" Dante interrupted this time

"Tough crowd!" Wilson scanned the pages

"Found it. 'The fallen lieutenant can be returned to his former glory only by sacrificing the heart of one in which flows the blood of he who put to death the one to be restored', Anyone understand that?"

"They need somebody with Sparda's blood" Dante said in no uncertain terms.

"But that must mean..." Trish began, Dante nodded. Trish spun around instantly, grabbing Erika by the ponytail.

"Hey, what are you doing!" Dante yelled, stopping them before anything else could happen

"Someone with Sparda's blood. Dante, you're his son. It must mean you. That makes her one of them" Trish growled, pulling Erika's hair tighter.

"Unless they made her out of Sparda's blood" Wilson said quietly.

"What!"

"It says 'one in which flows the blood', not 'son'. Sparda's known as 'The Legendary Dark Knight', not 'Mr. Friendly'. I sure as hell wouldn't want to mess with his family"

"Wilson, what are you saying?" Erika asked, sounding a little scared. Trish kept a tight hold on her.

"Is it not possible that the cultists 'engineered' their own 'Sparda-child' and used that seal I mentioned before to keep it under control?" Wilson said. Behind them, Dante moved Trish's sword off his desk, finding the first Herikarras crystal underneath it. Trish finally let Erika go as what was being said registered in her mind.

"This is insane" Erika said, starting to back away. Dante grabbed her arm.

"Not this time" he said in an unnaturally calm voice. Wilson had been telekinetically moving the printouts he had made, looking for the one on the seal. Trish beat him to it.

"It says here that you have to know the name of the person you want to put it on, how could they have known that?" she said

"Unless they picked it" Dante mused, the sight of the crystal had put an idea in his head. With his free hand he picked up a pen. Wilson was even less organised than Dante, if such a thing were possible. He had left bits of paper from the printer everywhere. On one of these Dante wrote 'Herikarras', then underlined a few letters. 'Herikarras'.

"They named you after the Seer"

"Ok, that much makes sense, but how did they get Sparda's blood in the first place?" Trish asked.

"There was blood on the Seer sword, wasn't there? Maybe devil blood lasts longer than human blood" Wilson theorised.

-

Giselle sat in Marcus's chair and watched the Herikarras sword shed a tear. Marcus had set up a catching device so that no tears would be wasted. She stood up and took the crystal, before taking the sword itself down. She put the crystal on the desk before unsheathing the weapon. The blade was silver, save for a few inches at the tip, which were stained a deep dark red. Incredible, she thought, that it had lasted this long. But then Sparda was famous for his resilience. She looked down on Marcus's lifeless body, an idea playing in her mind. Outside the wind howled louder than ever.

-

Erika struggled against Dante's vice like grip but there was no way he was going to let her go, not now. Ever since that dream at Calhoun's he had wondered, but hearing Wilson say it aloud made it more real somehow. Dante was certain by now that it hadn't been a mere dream; the sword and the crystal had been exactly as the vision of Sparda had said they would be. He was gripping her arm compulsively now and it was scaring her.

"Dante, let her go" Trish cautioned him. The glare in his eyes at these words made the blizzard outside seem inviting.

"Trish, you were there. You know what happened. You should know what this means if it's true" he said, subconsciously tightening his hold. Erika cried out in pain.

"For god's sake Dante. Can't you see you're hurting her?" Trish spat at him. Dante was stunned as he realized what he was doing. It took conscious effort for him to relax his grip; it had been so tight. Erika jumped away from him like a wounded animal. Fearing she may run again Trish caught Erika by the shoulders and pushed her into sitting on the couch. Dante turned away from them, his hands were shaking. He had really hurt her.

"Anybody care to explain what that was all about?" Wilson asked. Dante shot him a look that said 'If you weren't dead already I'd tear your throat out'. Wilson took the hint and shut up. Trish sat by Erika, keeping her hands on the girl's shoulders to stop her from getting up. She spoke slowly, more for Erika's sake than Wilson's.

"A few years ago, when Dante and I first met, we went to a place to confront a powerful evil..."

Wilson had never seen Dante look more dangerous than he did now. For the first time he was glad he was a ghost. Trish caught Dante's gaze and held it. She continued

"It was a trick by the devil responsible for the disappearance of Dante's mother and brother, Mundus. He wanted rid of anyone who had anything to do with Sparda. And I'm ashamed to admit but I was part of it" Trish felt Erika shudder violently under her hands.

"I'm not the same person any more, thank God. But what happened there..."

"I killed him" Dante cut her off.

"Dante..."

"That's what happened. That coward tricked me and I killed Vergil because of it"

"We don't know that for certain" Trish tried to talk to him. He wasn't listening. Erika watched him silently, torn, part of her starting to understand, another wanting nothing more than to be as far away from here as possible. Wilson, desperate to break the tension, tried to change the subject.

"Err... here's something, it says here that the seal can only be broken by stopping the affected person's heart" he read from the sheet Trish had abandoned.

"What seal? All night you've been saying things but I have no clue as to what you mean!" Erika shouted.

"Doesn't matter, its already broken" Dante said decisively

"You're right, I can feel it" Trish agreed

"How... ?"

"The graveyard, when you were shot"


	7. The End

Marcus's followers were so easily swayed it was pathetic, Giselle thought to herself. It was the sword they wanted and they would follow whoever had it into the seventh level of Hell. They were like addicts. The powers from the crystals only lasted a few hours, after that withdrawal symptoms set in and the people were left in a zombie-like state. Marcus had believed that the crystals gave best results from those who had not used them before. To that end most of his followers were now beyond hope and would do anything to receive a second crystal. Giselle now stood on a balcony overlooking a hall full of these pitiful creatures. Some once mortals, others, who knew? Strapped to her legs were the two handguns she had taken and in her right hand she held the sword Herikarras. Feeling its presence the wretched crowd began to murmur excitedly. She held the sword above her head.

"Followers of Brajin, Hear what I say. Marcus has betrayed us. He would have let the children of Sparda live free and our Master damned for all eternity. Marcus is no longer a threat to us, but those who carry Sparda's bloodline must pay. Any of you who can bring me an heir of Sparda, dead or alive, shall receive Master Brajin's favour!" Giselle called out to them. As one they all turned for the door, all desperate to be the one to please their new leader. Mindless automatons, all of them. Giselle laughed at how easy it was.

-

The blizzard raged stronger than ever, yet worse still was predicted to come. The Skyline was now completely buried. Erika wasn't too worried about it, but the weather was so bad now that by the looks of things, she was going nowhere. Dante, Trish and Wilson were now convinced that she was somehow related to this 'Sparda' character. Erika had heard Trish say that he was Dante's father, so what did 'related' mean? That Dante was her brother? Half brother? Erika found the whole idea too far fetched to even consider.

-

The snow was falling so thick and heavy that it wasn't setting on the ground or freezing over, it was just piling up. The wretched Brajin cultists struggled through the whiteout, barely able to move. The first few fell through the treacherous surface the snow provided, the rest climbing on top of their fallen companions. They moved like a herd, not like any type of sane group. All of them driven by the single, desperate desire to be once again in their master's favour. They struggled on through the bitter night, relentless in their single-minded quest.

-

Wilson was pretty sure he had found all the info he was going to, he couldn't think of anything he had missed. Unfortunately all the sheets of information were now in a disorganised heap all over the place. He wondered idly for a moment why he was worrying about things like that, especially now. Dante had gone into a back room to calm down. In Wilson's opinion that was probably for the best. Erika didn't want to know. She still wasn't convinced, even if everyone else was. Trish was watching her like a hawk. Wilson didn't think that Erika would go anywhere in this snowstorm, but there was no telling Trish that. She was still a bit sore for jumping to conclusions. It had been quiet since they had figured it all out, the radio had been left on but apart from the occasional weather report nobody was really bothered about it. Wilson was trying to think up something to say, just to break the silence when they heard a loud thud come from the door.

"What was that?" Erika asked. Trish shook her head and went to a window. Another thud followed by another. As if someone were trying to break down the door.

"My god, look at this" Trish said. Barely visible through the whiteout was a horde of the most desolate Brajin cultists; half-frozen and barely able to stay on their feet they threw themselves at the door in a pitiful effort to break it down. It reminded Trish of a zombie movie she had seen recently. At that point Dante came back in.

"What's going on?" he asked as he joined Trish by the window. "Wilson?"

"When exactly did I become the fountain of knowledge? I have no idea how zombies figure into this"

"They're not zombies; they look more like junkies than anything else to me" said Erika

"They're wearing Brajin robes. I am so sick of those people" Trish groaned

"You're right Trish. I say we take the fight to them. I'm sick of being dragged around by the nose" Dante said as he turned away from the window.

"And you've got a plan for getting through the blizzard? Oh wait, 'you have your ways' right?" Wilson said in a disgruntled manner.

"Don't be so negative, it doesn't suit you" Dante mocked. "Trish, I say where we're going, think you can make it?"

"Anything's better than sitting here playing 'Dawn of the Dead'".

"You too kiddo, I'm not letting you out of my sight" Dante said as he grabbed Erika's shoulders despite her protests.

"And I'm supposed to stay here and hold the fort" Wilson complained

"That is a good idea" said Trish as she put one arm around Dante's neck and the other around Erika's.

"Hey! What am I supposed to do if they break in!" Wilson protested

"Tell them we're closed" Dante remarked. Trish closed her eyes, a second later she and her two passengers were engulfed by a strange golden lightning. Once it cleared they were gone, leaving Wilson alone.

-

That eerie gold coloured lightning filled a now empty hall. It cleared as suddenly as it had started; leaving behind three figures that hadn't been there before. Trish had handled the teleport beautifully. Dante hadn't been aware that she could take more than one person at a time. From what he had seen Marcus's office had been near the top floor.

"Any ideas?" Trish asked

"Sure. Find Marcus and kill him" was Dante's reply. He headed to the elevator, dragging Erika with him.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Erika shouted, pulling against Dante's grasp.

"I told you before; I'm not letting you out of my sight" Dante said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Erika pulled again, this time managing to break free.

"What are you gonna do? Drag me around like some kinda pet? I don't know what happened before but I'm pretty damn sure that it doesn't give you the right to act like this!" she growled, sounding much more dangerous than she could possibly look.

"You're right, You don't know. That makes all the difference" Dante scowled icily. Erika wasn't prepared to back down just yet.

"The difference between what?"

"You'll see". For a moment they stared each other down, neither one willing to relent. Then Erika turned away and walked off.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dante shouted after her

"Anywhere you're not" was her answer. Dante moved to go after her but Trish stopped him.

"Dante, she needs time. This is a lot for her to take in" she said.

"She's vulnerable on her own. I'm not going to let her..." Dante started

"Then we shouldn't have brought her here. Look, she's managed to survive on her own for years. I'm sure she can manage one more night"

"Think what you want, I'm going after her" Dante said, brushing Trish aside.

"Why do you have to be so goddamn stubborn?" Trish said quietly

-

Erika ran blindly, not caring where she was headed. All that she knew was that she had to get as far away from Dante as possible. She paused for a second to hit the call button for a nearby elevator, then spotted an open door close at hand. She dived through just as Dante closed in. He saw the lit up button.

"Erika, I know you're around here somewhere" he called out. Erika pressed against the wall, trying to figure out some way out of this room. Dante would spot the open door soon, and if she tried to close it she would give away her position.

"Erika!" she heard him shout, then another voice.

"Dante, shouting like that won't help" Trish. The room seemed to be some sort of art gallery; it was full of various sculptures of gargoyles. Erika was thankful that that Giselle witch wasn't around. A second later Dante burst into the room. Erika slipped behind the nearest statue.

"Dante! Would you listen to me!" Trish shouted as Dante smashed a particularly ugly gargoyle with his sword. Behind them the elevator bell rang. The sound of high heels echoed all too clearly on the polished surface. Alastor twirled in Dante's had as though it were alive.

"Why don't you come where we can see you, I'm bored with your little plot already" Dante called out. Giselle entered the room like a queen.

"Do you know how much those statues cost" She said disdainfully.

"Send me the bill" Dante said dismissively.

"I'd be careful what you say around here" said Giselle in a childish tone.

"I'm tired of subordinates. Where's your boss"

Giselle's eyes started to glow. Dante stood ready, Trish took her cue from this and drew her sword. Just then Giselle was pitched forward. Erika had appeared behind her, as stealthy as a ninja. Giselle screeched furiously, her eyes burning. As one, the gargoyles rose from their pedestals. Trish and Dante took out the first few quickly. Then behind them Giselle grabbed Erika and held a gun to her head.

"Not another move or I swear I'll kill her" she spat as she backed out of the room with her hostage. As she left Dante plunged forward only to be intercepted by a second wave of those gargoyle creatures. Trish dropped her sword and held her arms up, that familiar gold electricity surged between her hands, then she hurled it at the creatures, dropping them like flies.

"Go! I can handle things down here" Trish called to Dante, who didn't need telling twice. He dived through the window, glowing with intense light. A moment later he shot skywards like a bullet.

-

As the elevator slowly pulled itself towards the top of the building Giselle gloated at the way things had turned out.

"I bet you thought I'd never find you. You little brat. You owe me more than you could ever imagine" she crowed.

"Shut up you damn bitch!" Erika snapped. She was in no mood to chat. Giselle slapped her hard across the face.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that; you wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for me!" Giselle spat darkly.

"How stupid do you think I am? My mother was Natalia Romanov, not..."

"I made you. I kidnapped dear Natalia from her home in St. Petersburg and I took the blood of Sparda from the Herikarras sword. I cast the spell that created you. If that harlot you call a mother had just behaved herself I wouldn't be in this mess, thankfully I had the common sense to have a sorcerer put a seal on you before you were even born. Not even Sparda himself would have known you were his child with that seal intact". Giselle hissed. Erika had an idea.

"You're too late. Dante told me that the seal is already broken"

"It doesn't matter. By the time you develop your full power my Master Brajin will have returned. Either your heart or the Son of Sparda's will work. I tricked him into getting involved so I could have two chances to make this work". The elevator reached its destination. Giselle pushed Erika out ahead of her, forcing her into the office. Who should be sat there on the desk waiting for them but Dante Sparda? He had found the manuscripts and was now flipping through them.

"Let me get this straight. You hide important documents in the desk drawers where anyone can find them? Isn't that just a little arrogant?" he said in a mock innocent tone. Giselle roared and ran at him, forgetting all about Erika. Dante waved his hand in an indifferent manner then tore the manuscripts in two.

"Oops" he taunted, then said in a severe tone, "Where's Marcus"

"You're so keen to meet him; here he is" Giselle said in an unnaturally calm voice, clicking her fingers. From a corner in the room, hidden in the shadows, a huge figure stumbled towards them; shaky on legs that didn't belong to it.

"Things are a little different around here now. I'm the boss, and my darling Marcus is... see for yourself"

The beast that shambled out of the shadows had been human once, now it was the kind of thing people have nightmares about. Clearly visible on its deformed face, behind those many gargantuan spider-like legs, was a single gunshot wound in the centre of its forehead. Right beside this the left eye was punctured. That could only mean one thing...

"Amazing, isn't it. I had no idea that the crystals had such an adverse affect on the recently deceased" Giselle spoke

"Listen, I take it you're new to the whole 'major villain' thing, so I'll tell you this: The big words don't make you sound any scarier" said Dante as he strode forwards.

"Big words, little words, its all just words in the end" said Giselle casually. She clicked her fingers again, beckoning the monstrosity forward. Dante drew his sword. Behind them Erika tried to move back toward the elevator. Giselle spotted what she was trying to do and leapt, grabbing the girl by her arm. Erika had had enough of being grabbed tonight. She jabbed her elbow into Giselle's stomach as hard as she could. Winded, Giselle dropped the arm that was holding her gun. Erika seized the weapon before Giselle could recover and aimed it at her face just as Giselle drew a second gun and aimed it at her.

"You little brat, I'll die happy as long as you go first, you and that hero of yours" Giselle ranted

"So you'll be nice to Dante but you call me names?" Erika retorted.

-

Dante had enough problems of his own to be dealing with without worrying about what the witch was up to. The monster formerly known as Marcus was stronger than it looked. Dante's first impression had been that it was slow and graceless. How wrong he had been. In spite of its awkward movements it was extremely strong and could move very fast when it wanted to. Its first assault had caught him by surprise and thrown him clear across the room, crushing the desk as he landed. He was not going to make that mistake twice. Dante flipped to his feet athletically as the creature threw itself at him. He thrust his sword at the beast's nearest leg, shearing it off. The fiend roared in anger and swung at him. This time Dante was ready, he dodged it effortlessly and was ready for it's next move.

-

Erika wasn't faring much better. Giselle was trying to point her gun at Erika's face and pull the trigger. At this range Erika could push her arm away but somehow she couldn't bring herself to return fire, she had aimed guns at people before but she had never fired at anything but targets. She couldn't do it. Giselle kept breaking free and aiming and Erika kept pushing her arm away. It hadn't occurred to Giselle to move back to where Erika couldn't reach, she was too angry to think straight. She brought her arm around again. This time Erika ducked underneath her arm and kicked the back of her knee, forcing her to the ground. Erika dropped the gun and seized Giselle's arm, twisting it so she couldn't get back up

-

The creature lashed out, catching Dante and pitching him back slightly. Cursing himself for being overconfident, he drew his guns and opened fire. The beast howled with fury as small chunks of its face disintegrated under the hail of bullets. It picked up the Herikarras sword from the wreckage that had once been a desk. Giselle had left it there. Then it leapt, sweeping the sword in a wide arc. Dante grabbed Alastor and parried the blow. The monster may be strong but it was no swordsman.

"Let's rock", Dante sneered as it regained its composure. Lunging forwards, Dante jabbed repeatedly at it's chest, not giving it time to move. Then he slashed upwards, catching the brute and hurling it into the air. He then switched to Ebony and Ivory, suspending the thing in mid air with the force of the shots. He let it fall to the ground before swinging Alastor at it again for good measure. It didn't get back up

"You're losing your touch" Dante sneered as he approached Giselle's prone figure.

"If you think I'm finished you are wrong" Giselle tried to sound fierce. She dived forwards, breaking free from Erika and rushed to the torn manuscript. Two gunshots hit the paper just as she reached out for it. Giselle spun, glaring angrily at Dante only to see that it wasn't him who had fired. Erika held the two guns Giselle had lost during the fight. The barrels were smoking and her hands were shaking slightly but the look in her clear blue eyes was unmistakable. She had had enough.

"What are you going to do? Haven't you figured out by now that you can't win? You were so scared of the real Child of Sparda that you made the world's best forgery and even that proved to be too much for you. So what happens now?" Erika sounded calm but her hands were shaking worse than ever now. Giselle spotted this

"That's all you are, isn't it? A forgery! A fake! I don't think the ritual would have worked if we used your heart, I don't think it's good enough" That was when a new shot was fired. The sound deeper than the one Erika's pistols had made. Ivory was smoking in Dante's hand. He twirled it like a gunslinger. Giselle fell to the ground.

"She talks too much" he said simply

"How can you be sure she's..."

"Headshots usually work"

Erika turned away. There were tears in her eyes.

"You don't believe what she said about being a fake? Because I sure as hell don't"

"What?"

"Your alive, you can't fake that and that's good enough for me"

Erika was quiet. Either she didn't want to speak or couldn't think of anything. Dante didn't care

"Come on kiddo, let's find Trish and get out of here"

-

Dante's office was unusually quiet considering the way it had been when they had left. The mob outside had disappeared and Wilson was nowhere to be seen. Dante almost hoped Wilson had gone to wherever it was ghosts went, but it had been because of Wilson that the night's events had unfolded the way they had. It didn't seem right that Wilson would just leave.

"Are they all gone yet?" said an all too familiar voice; Wilson hadn't left after all.

"I thought you had gone. Am I gonna have to call a priest?" said Dante

"Very funny"

"Where were you?"

"Doing the invisible thing, ghosts do that occasionally"

"What happened to the cultists?" Trish asked

"Weirdest thing, they just turned around and left. It was as if someone had called them back" Wilson explained

"And where were you?"

"Hiding. When you're intangible there's not much you can do. What happened to you guys?"

While Trish explained Dante checked on Erika. She had been quiet ever since they had got back.

"You ok?"

"Not quite, but I'm getting there"

Nothing else was said on the matter. There would be plenty of time for that later.

"Dante, I have a favour to ask" Wilson said, "After I've gone I want you to destroy all the work I did on that manuscript. I want it to be like it never existed"

"Consider it done. You may be annoying but you're ok by me" said Dante

"That's all I needed to hear. Maybe I'll see you around someday" said Wilson. With that he has surrounded by a brilliant white light. It glowed so intensely that it hurt to look at it. Then it faded and the ghost of Wilson Greene was gone, leaving the three of them to figure out where they went from here.


End file.
